Sustainable Use (Article 10)
The Conference of the
Parties,
Underlining
that the proposals for the application of ways
and means to remove or mitigate perverse incentives elaborated by
the Workshop on Incentive Measures for the Conservation and
Sustainable Use of Components of Biological Diversity, held in
Montreal from 3 to 5 June 2003, provide further guidance on the
implementation of principle 3 of the Addis Ababa Principles and
Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity,
Stressingthat the
ecosystem approach is the primary framework for action in the
Convention on Biological Diversity and that there is a need to
consider the interlinkages between the Addis Ababa Principles and
Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity and the
ecosystem approach in the conservation and sustainable management
of biodiversity,
Noting
the ongoing work on impact assessment under the
Convention on Biological Diversity,
Recognizing
that agricultural biodiversity was not fully
addressed in the process leading up to the development of the Addis
Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of
Biodiversity and that there is a need for their further elaboration
specifically with respect to domesticated species, breeds and
varieties in the context of the programme of work on agricultural
biodiversity,
Recognizing
that the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines
would provide Parties with an important tool to achieve the 2010
target endorsed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the
Millennium Development Goals and the three objectives of the
Convention,
Emphasizing
further the need for technology transfer and
cooperation, and support as well as capacity building activities to
assist Governments to apply the Addis Ababa Principles and
Guidelines,
1.
Adopts the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the
Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, as contained in annex II to the
present decision;[38]/
2.
Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant
organizations to initiate a process for the implementation of the
Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines, in accordance with Article
10 of the Convention which provides that Contracting Parties
undertake specified actions as far as possible, and as appropriate,
at the national and local levels, and in line with Article 6 of the
Convention on Biological Diversity, taking into account obligations
under other international agreements and conventions and existing
frameworks for sustainable use of components of biodiversity,
including the concept of sustainable forest management, e.g., by
developing pilot projects, with a view to:
(a)
Integrating and mainstreaming the Addis Ababa Principles and
Guidelines into a range of measures including policies, programmes,
national legislation and other regulations, sectoral and
cross-sectoral plans and programmes addressing consumptive and non
consumptive use of components of biological diversity,
including plans and programmes addressing the removal or mitigation
of perverse incentives that undermine the conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity, as deemed necessary by individual
Parties; and
(b)
Gathering and disseminating through the clearing-house mechanism
and other means relevant information on experiences and lessons
learned for the further improvement of the guidelines;
3.
Requests the
Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Advice,
prior to the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, to
explore the applicability of these principles and guidelines to
agricultural biodiversity, in particular domesticated species,
breeds and varieties, and make appropriate recommendations,
[39]/
4.
Requests the Executive Secretary to collect information and
experiences on successful efforts made to implement Article 10 of
the Convention and, as they are developed, success stories, best
practices and lessons learned in the application of the Addis Ababa
Principles and Guidelines, including information and experiences on
how sustainable use of biodiversity can contribute to the
achievement of the target of significantly reducing the rate of
biodiversity loss by 2010 for consideration by the Subsidiary Body
on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice prior to the
ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
5.
Requests the Executive Secretary to undertake further work
on issues pertaining to use of terms for sustainable use, adaptive
management, monitoring and indicators building on the outcome of
the Addis Ababa workshop, and in particular and in line with
Article 7 of the Convention, to further consolidate the work on the
use of terms and on associated instruments based on sections I
D and II D together with appendix I of annex I to the report
of the Addis Ababa Workshop (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/INF/8), for
consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and
Technological Advice prior to the eighth meeting of the Conference
of the Parties and, recalling decisions V/15 and V/24,
requests the Executive Secretary to convene a series of
technical experts workshops on ecosystem services assessment,
financial costs and benefits associated with conservation of
biodiversity, and sustainable use of biological resources, taking
into account decision VII/12 on sustainable use;
6.
Invites Parties and Governments, in collaboration with other
relevant international organizations and agreements, indigenous and
local communities and stakeholders to undertake further research
including, through, inter alia, the compilation and analysis
of case-studies and existing literature on sustainable use
consistent with practical principle 6:
(a) The
impacts of sustainable use and non-sustainable use on livelihoods,
and ecosystems goods and services;
(b) The role
of indigenous and local communities, and women in the sustainable
use of components of biodiversity;
(c) The
relationship between resilience of ecosystems and the sustainable
use of biodiversity;
(d) The
terms used in the description of sustainable use, , taking into
account the aspirations of present and future generations in
different regions and situations; building on the consensus reached
in the Addis Ababa report (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/INF/8);
(e) The
elaboration of management plans at time scales appropriate to the
life history of species or populations;
(f) The
applicability of the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines on the
use of components of biological diversity in a transboundary
context, (e.g., a resource shared between different countries, or
migratory species moving across national jurisdictions);
(g) The
functional relationships between different components of biological
diversity in the context of sustainable use;
(h) The
socio-economic factors that influence pattern and intensity of use
of biological resources, economic and social values of goods and
services provided by ecosystems;
(i)
Methods and mechanisms to determine sustainability of various
intensities of use and participatory methods for determining
appropriate levels of sustainable use;
(j)
Ways of enhancing equitable distribution of benefits derived from
the sustainable use of components of biodiversity, including
genetic resources;
7.
Requests the Executive Secretary to integrate the work on
indicators for monitoring sustainable use referred to in section
III of the note by the Executive Secretary on sustainable use
(UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/9) (see annex I to the present decision) also
into the broader work undertaken pursuant to decision VI/7 on
"identification, monitoring, indicators and
assessment". In particular, social, economic and
ecological indicators of external disturbances should be identified
and developed. Existing indicator frameworks, monitoring
systems and inventories of natural resources should be utilized, as
appropriate;
8.
Invites Parties and Governments, in collaboration with
relevant organizations, including the private sector, to develop
and transfer technologies and provide financial support to assist
in the implementation of the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines
at the national level to ensure that the use of biological
diversity is sustainable.
Annex I
extract from the
note by the Executive Secretary on sustainable use prepared for the
ninth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and
Technological Advice (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/9)
I.
INTRODUCTION
1. In
recent decades, biodiversity components have been used in a way
leading to degradation of habitats, loss of species and erosion of
genetic diversity, thus jeopardizing present and future
livelihoods. Sustainable use of components of biodiversity,
one of the three objectives of the Convention, is a key to
achieving the broader goal of sustainable development and is a
cross-cutting issue relevant to all thematic issues and areas
addressed by the Convention and to all biological resources.
It entails the application of methods and processes in the
utilization of biodiversity to maintain its potential to meet
current and future human needs and aspirations and to prevent its
long-term decline.
2.
Sustainable use of the components of biological diversity is
defined in Article 2 of the Convention as the use of components of
biological diversity in a way and at a rate that does not lead to
the long-term decline of biological diversity, thereby maintaining
its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of present and
future generations. Provisions relating to sustainable use are
given in Article 10, which, inter alia, requests
Parties to "adopt measures relating to the use of biological
diversity to avoid or minimize impacts on biological
diversity". In order to assist Governments in their
implementation of Article 10, the Conference of the Parties at its
fifth meeting requested the Executive Secretary "to assemble
practical principles, operational guidelines and associated
instruments, and guidance specific to sectors and biomes, which
would assist Parties and Governments to develop ways to achieve the
sustainable use of biological diversity, within the framework of
the ecosystem approach" (decision V/24).
3. In
response to that decision, the Executive Secretary, in
collaboration with the Governments of Mozambique, Viet Nam Ecuador and with financial
support from the Government of the Netherlands, convened three
regional expert workshops in 2001-2002 designed to develop a set of
practical principles and operational guidelines and associated
enabling instruments for Parties, resource managers and other
stakeholders.
4. The
first workshop, held in Maputo
in September 2001, focused on key elements
relating to the sustainable use of dryland resources and wildlife
utilization in . [40]/
The second workshop was held in Hanoi in January 2002 and
addressed in particular the uses of forest biological diversity,
including timber and non-wood forest products in Asia, with references to
agricultural biological diversity. [41]/
The third workshop, held in SalinasEcuador, in February 2002,
focused on marine and freshwater fisheries uses particularly
in and the Caribbean. [42]/
5. At
its sixth meeting, the Conference of the Parties, in its
decision VI/13, called for a fourth open-ended workshop in
order to:
(a)
Synthesize the outcomes of the three workshops;
(b)
Integrate different views and regional differences; and
(c) Develop
a set of practical principles and operational guidelines for the
sustainable use of biological diversity.
6. The
fourth open-ended workshop was organized in Addis AbabaEthiopia, from 6 to
8 May 2003. The
report of the meeting is available to the ninth meeting of SBSTTA
as an information document
(UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/INF/8).
7.
Information contained in the present note as well as the suggested
recommendations are based on the outcome of the aforementioned
fourth workshop.
II.
OVERVIEW OF THE ADDIS
ABABA PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE
SUSTAINABLE USE OF BIODIVERSITY
8.
The Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of
Biodiversity are annexed to the present note. A preamble to
the principles is gives a list of seven underlying conditions that
should be taken into account in Government and natural resources
planning. This list is followed by the fourteen principles,
which provide a framework for advising Governments, indigenous and
local communities, resource managers, the private sector and other
stakeholders, about how they can ensure that their uses of
biodiversity components will not lead to the long-term decline of
biological diversity. Each principle is followed by the
rationale, a thorough explanation and exemplification of the
motivation and meaning of the principle, and the operational
guidelines, which provide functional advice on the implementation
of the principle.
9. The
principles are intended to be of general relevance, although not
all principles will apply equally to all situations, nor will they
apply with equal rigour. Their application will vary
according to the biodiversity being used, the conditions under
which they are being used, and the institutional and cultural
context in which the use is taking place. The practical
principles in most instances apply to both consumptive and
non-consumptive uses of biodiversity components. They take
into account requirements related to:
(a)
Policies, laws, and regulations;
(b)
Management of biological diversity;
(c)
Socio-economic conditions; and
(d)
Information, research and education.
III.
ASSOCIATED
INSTRUMENTS [43]/
10.
Implementation of the principles and guidelines for the sustainable
use of biodiversity will depend on many inter-related factors
including, but not limited to, existence of appropriate incentive
measures, ability to manage and exchange information and sufficient
capacity with which to implement sustainable management plans, and,
the capacity to adapt to changing conditions based on monitoring
and feedback. In particular, because in ecosystem management,
circumstances change and thus uncertainties are inherent in all
managed uses of components of biodiversity, adaptive management
must be an essential part of any management for sustainable
use. The successful application of adaptive management is
dependent on monitoring changes in the indicators being uses, which
could lead to changes in an array of activities associated with the
management system. The issues of adaptive management and
monitoring and indicators for sustainable use are addressed
below.
3.1.
Adaptive management
11.
Sustainable use is not a fixed state, but rather the consequence of
balancing an array of factors, which vary according to the context
of the use. In addition, sustainability of uses cannot be
expressed with certainty, but rather as a probability that may have
to change if the conditions in which management is taking place
change. In this context, adaptive management deals with the
complex and dynamic nature of ecosystems and their uses and the
absence of complete knowledge of their functioning, it is able to
respond to uncertainties and it contains elements of
"learning-by-doing" or research feedback.
Achievement of sustainability is also dependent on institutional
capacities to adapt to changing conditions based on monitoring and
feedback. Given the uncertainties, sudden changes and
different contexts in which the use of biodiversity is taking
place, sustainable use entails the adaptive management of
biological resources.
12. Briefly,
adaptive management is considered the appropriate approach toward
the management of biological resources because of its ability to
deal with the uncertainty and natural variation, its iterative
nature of monitoring biological resource through the management
cycles, and the feedback/decision-making mechanisms to alter the
management. Adaptive management can be applied at each of the
recognized components of biological diversity, where the scale of
management (and adaptive-management needs) is determined by the
component being used.
3.2.
Monitoring and indicators
13.
Monitoring is a key component of adaptive management and managers
should be accountable and responsible for developing and
implementing the monitoring programme. The indicators and
benchmarks that form part of that monitoring programme should be
agreed upon by all relevant stakeholders including Governments and
scientists.
14. A series
of criteria and characteristics should be taken into consideration
in developing a monitoring system. For instance, monitoring
should be bounded by spatial and temporal scales that are relevant
to the potential impact, but should not ignore
"downstream", indirect side effects of management.
There are also different levels at which consumptive and
non-consumptive uses should be conducted. For instance,
harvest efforts should be monitored, in order to determine changes
in the yield per unit effort as an index of the impact of the
management programme, taking into account improvements in
technology and practice relating to the efficiency of
harvesting.
15.
Monitoring of both consumptive and non-consumptive use should be
conducted at the same frequency and by the same agencies, although
the combination of monitoring may result in a greater probability
that use-related impacts will be detected and that monitoring
systems will be maintained in the long term. Monitoring at
multiple levels is particularly important in cases where limited
information is available about the current status of the component
of biological diversity that is being used, or to avoid bias
resulting from information derived as the result of use (e.g.,
harvesting is most often targeted at specific components
only). It is also important to consider impacts on a resource
other than influence by direct management actions, such as illegal
off-takes, and to use all other relevant sources of information to
verify conclusions about the trends in resource status and
recommendations concerning its management.
16. There is
the need to identify/further develop indicators [44]/ within the context of sustainable use in order to
describe; status of a system, change in a system, trends in a
system, combinations of the above. Desirable characteristics
of indicators should also be identified.
17.
Indicators should be developed at various scales. Some will
be national in context; some will be management-area
indicators. It is important for managers/planners to include
in the monitoring system indicators relevant to their specific
situation. Managers should be aware that there are many
existing sources of information on indicators (e.g., the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Agenda 21,
the United Nations System Wide Earth Watch Indicators, the World
Bank).
18. For each
of the components of biological diversity a set of indicators to
measure their decline should be finalized. In this biological
context, indicators should be identified for the components of
biological diversity that can be subject to use. The
assessment of the sustainability of use on a particular component
will largely depend on the scale and extent of use.
Indicators of sustainability should be applied to the component of
biological diversity that approximates the unit of
management.
19. The
indicators identified should be suitable to demonstrate the impact
of use, and only refer to the biological status of each
component of biological diversity, as they should be built to
detect decline in the status of biodiversity components.
20. Economic
indicators will be also essential in indicating status, change and
trends of use of biological components of biodiversity in economic
terms. Indicators identified should be used to assess
sustainability of the use. For example, the degree to which
biological resources are priced and reflect true value, being a
condition for effective management, may serve as an economic
indicator.
21. In
addition, social indicators that reflect social values with respect
to the sustainable use of biological components. The indicators
identified should be suitable examples to demonstrate:
(a) The
incorporation of social values into the use of biological
resources;
(b) How
unique needs of individuals and indigenous and local communities
are considered in policy-making and management decisions;
and
(c) The
extent to which the allocation of resources can be considered to be
fair and equitable.
22. All
cultures use aspects of biological diversity for the maintenance of
their cultures. Using indicators to monitor sustainable use
in a cultural context is important to understand the impact of the
use upon cultures, and vice versa. Cultures need to be
defined beyond indigenous groups; to include beliefs, customs,
practices and social behaviour of all people. Some cultural
indicators should therefore be identified.
Annex II
Addis Ababa Principles
and Guidelines for the Sustainable use of
Biodiversity
1. The
Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable use of
Biodiversity consist of fourteen interdependent practical
principles, operational guidelines and a few instruments for their
implementation that govern the uses of components of biodiversity
to ensure the sustainability of such uses. The principles
provide a framework for advising Governments, resource managers,
indigenous and local communities, the private sector and other
stakeholders about how they can ensure that their use of the
components of biodiversity will not lead to the long-term decline
of biological diversity. The principles are intended to be of
general relevance, although not all principles will apply equally
to all situations, nor will they apply with equal rigour.
Their application will vary according to the biodiversity being
used, the conditions under which they are being used, and the
institutional and cultural context in which the use is taking
place.
2.
Sustainable use is a valuable tool to promote conservation of
biological diversity, since in many instances it provides
incentives for conservation and restoration because of the social,
cultural and economic benefits that people derive from that use. In
turn, sustainable use cannot be achieved without effective
conservation measures. In this context, and as recognized in the
Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development, sustainable use is an effective tool to combat
poverty, and, consequently, to achieve sustainable
development.
3
Agricultural
biodiversity was not fully addressed in the process leading up to
the development of the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for
the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity and there is a need for their
further elaboration specifically with respect to domesticated
species, breeds and varieties in the context of the programme of
work on agricultural biodiversity.
4. The
practical principles in most instances apply to both consumptive
and non-consumptive uses of biodiversity components. They take into
account requirements related to: (i) policies, laws, and
regulations; (ii) management of biological diversity; (iii)
socio-economic conditions; and (iv) information, research and
education.
5. It
is a fundamental assumption that the application of the practical
principles and operational guidelines is set within the context of
the ecosystem approach (decision V/6 of the Conference of the
Parties). For the practical principles, footnotes provide
cross references to the relevant principle(s) of the ecosystem
approach.
6.
Progress towards sustainability will require the political will to
bring about changes to create the necessary enabling environment at
all levels of Government and society. The operational guidelines
are intended to provide functional advice on the implementation of
the principles. These guidelines have been developed taking into
account regional and thematic differences and best practices and
lessons learned that have been documented in case-studies on the
sustainable use of biological diversity in different biomes as well
as existing codes of conduct.
7. The
operationalization of the principles will require an enabling
institutional, legal and administrative structure at all levels of
Government and society within each Party. Further, to be effective,
policies and regulations that are adopted should ensure that the
application of the principles is flexible and adaptable to
different local realities and adjustable to specific ecosystems. In
this context, seven underlying conditions should be taken into
account as a framework for the correct implementation of the
principles and guidelines, as listed in section A below.
A.
Underlying conditions for sustainable use
8. In
structuring a sustainable use programme and the attendant policies,
laws and regulations to implement such a programme, there are a few
underlying conditions that should be taken into account in
Government and natural resource management planning:
(a) It is
possible to use biodiversity components in a manner in which
ecological processes, species and genetic variability remain above
thresholds needed for long-term viability, and thus all resource
managers and users have the responsibility to ensure that use does
not exceed these capacities. It is crucial that the biodiversity in
ecosystems is maintained, or in some cases recovered, to ensure
that those ecosystems are capable to sustain the ecological
services on which both biodiversity and people depend;
(b)
Ecosystems, ecological processes within them, species variability
and genetic variation change over time whether or not they are
used. Therefore, Governments, resource managers and users
should take into account the need to accommodate change, including
stochastic events that may adversely affect biodiversity and
influence the sustainability of a use;
(c) In
circumstances where the risk of converting natural landscapes to
other purposes is high, encouraging sustainable use can provide
incentives to maintain habitats and ecosystems, the species within
them, and the genetic variability of the species. Also, for
particular species, such as crocodiles, sustainable use has
provided substantial incentives for conserving a dangerous animal
that represents a threat to humans;
(d) The
basic necessities of life, such as food, shelter, freshwater and
clean air are produced either directly or indirectly from using
biological diversity. In addition, biodiversity provides many
direct benefits and ecosystem services necessary for life. In many
countries, there is complete or substantial dependence on harvested
plants and animals by millions of people, often among the poorest,
for their livelihoods. Increasingly other uses such as
pharmaceuticals for disease prevention and cure are becoming
evident and are also met from using biological diversity.
Finally, indigenous and local communities and their cultures often
depend directly on the uses of biological diversity for their
livelihoods. In all of these instances, Governments should
have adequate policies and capacities in place to ensure that such
uses are sustainable;
(e) The
supply of biological products and ecological services available for
use is limited by intrinsic biological characteristics of both
species and ecosystems, including productivity, resilience, and
stability. Biological systems, which are dependent on cycling
of finite resources, have limits on the goods they can provide and
services they can render. Although certain limits can be extended
to some degree through technological breakthroughs, there are still
limits, and constraints, imposed by the availability and
accessibility of endogenous and exogenous resources;
(f) To
ameliorate any potential negative long-term effects of uses it is incumbent on
all resource users, to apply precaution in their management
decisions and to opt for sustainable use management strategies and
policies that favour uses that provide increased sustainable
benefits while not adversely affecting biodiversity.
Likewise, Governments should be certain that licensed or authorized
sustainable uses of biological diversity are taking such precaution
in their management;
(g) In
considering individual guidelines provided below, it is necessary
to refer to and apply the provisions of Article 8(j), Article 10(c)
and other related provisions and their development in relevant
decisions of the Conference of the Parties in all matters that
relate to indigenous and local communities.
B. Practical principles,
rationale and operational guidelines for the sustainable use of
biodiversity
9.
Sustainability of use of biodiversity components will be enhanced
if the following practical principles and related operational
guidelines are applied:
Practical principle 1: Supportive
policies, laws, and institutions are in place at all levels of
governance and there are effective linkages between these
levels.
Rationale:
There is need to have congruence in policies and laws at all levels
of governance associated with a particular use. For example, when
an international agreement adopts a policy regarding use of
biodiversity, national
[45]/ laws must
be compatible if sustainability is to be enhanced. There must be
clear and effective linkages between different jurisdictional
levels to enable a "pathway" to be developed which
allows timely and effective response to unsustainable use and
allows sustainable use of a resource to proceed from collection or
harvest through to final use without unnecessary impediment. In
most cases the primary means for achieving congruence between local
and international levels of governance should be through national
Governments.
Operational
guidelines
§
Consider local customs and traditions (and customary law where
recognized) when drafting new legislation and regulations;
§
Identify existing and develop new supportive incentives measures,
policies, laws and institutions, as required, within the
jurisdiction in which a use will take place, also taking into
account Articles 8(j) and 10(c), as appropriate;
§
Identify any overlaps, omissions and contradictions in existing
laws and policies and initiate concrete actions to resolve
them;
§
Strengthen and/or create cooperative and supportive linkages
between all levels of governance in order to avoid duplication of
efforts or inconsistencies.
Practical
principle 2: Recognizing the need
for a governing framework consistent with
international
[46]/ national
laws, local users of biodiversity components should be sufficiently
empowered and supported by rights to be responsible and accountable
for use of the resources concerned.
[47]/
Rationale:
Uncontrolled access to biodiversity components often leads to
over-utilization as people try to maximize their personal benefits
from the resource while it is available. Resources for which
individuals or communities have use, non-use, or transfer rights
are usually used more responsibly because they no longer need to
maximise benefits before someone else removes the resources.
Therefore sustainability is generally enhanced if Governments
recognize and respect the "rights" or
"stewardship" authority, responsibility and
accountability to the people who use and manage the resource, which
may include indigenous and local communities, private landowners,
conservation organizations and the business sector. Moreover, to
reinforce local rights or stewardship of biological diversity and
responsibility for its conservation, resource users should
participate in making decisions about the resource use and have the
authority to carry out any actions arising from those
decisions.
Operational
guidelines
§
Where possible adopt means that aim toward delegating rights,
responsibility, and accountability to those who use and/or manage
biological resources;
§
Review existing regulations to see if they can be used for
delegating rights; amend regulations where needed and possible;
and/or draft new regulations where needed. Throughout local customs
and traditions (including customary law where recognized) should be
considered;
§
Refer to the programme of work related to the implementation of
Article 8(j) with regard to indigenous and local community issues
(decision V/16), implement and integrate tasks relevant for the
sustainable use of biodiversity components, in particular element
3, tasks 6, 13 and 14;
§
Provide training and extension services to enhance the capacity of
people to enter into effective decision-making arrangements as well
as in implementation of sustainable use methods;
§
Protect and encourage customary use of biological resources that is
sustainable, in accordance with traditional and cultural practices
(Article 10(c)).
Practical
principle 3: International, national
policies, laws and regulations that distort markets which
contribute to habitat degradation or otherwise generate perverse
incentives that undermine conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity, should be identified and removed or
mitigated.
[48]/
Rationale:
Some policies or practices induce unsustainable behaviours that
reduce biodiversity, often as unanticipated side effects as they
were initially designed to attain other objectives. For example,
some policies that encourage domestic over production often
generate perverse incentives that undermine the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity. Eliminating subsidies that
contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to
over-capacity, as required by the WSSD Plan of Implementation in
order to achieve sustainable fisheries, is a further instance of
the recognition of the need to remove perverse
incentives.
Operational
guidelines
§
Identify economic mechanisms, including incentive systems and
subsidies at international, national levels that are having a
negative impact on the potential sustainability of uses of
biological diversity;
§
Remove those systems leading to market distortions that result in
unsustainable uses of biodiversity components;
§
Avoid unnecessary and inadequate regulations of uses of biological
diversity because they can increase costs, foreclose opportunities,
and encourage unregulated uses thus decreasing the sustainability
of the use.
Practical
principle 4: Adaptive management
should be practiced, based on:
Science and traditional and local
knowledge;
Iterative, timely and transparent feedback
derived from monitoring the use, environmental, socio-economic
impacts, and the status of the resource being used; and
(c)
Adjusting management based on timely feedback
from the monitoring procedures. [49]/
Rationale:
Biological systems and the economic and social factors that can
affect the sustainability of use of biological diversity are highly
variable. It is not possible to have knowledge of all aspects
of such systems before a use of biological diversity begins.
Therefore, it is necessary for the management to monitor the
effects of that use and allow adjustment of the use as appropriate,
including modification, and if necessary suspension of
unsustainable practices. In this context, it is preferable to use
all sources of information about a resource when deciding how it
can be used. In many societies traditional and local
knowledge has led to much use of biological diversity being
sustainable over long time-periods without detriment to the
environment or the resource. Incorporation of such knowledge into
modern use systems can do much to avoid inappropriate use and
enhance sustainable use of components of biodiversity.
Operational
guidelines
§
Ensure that for particular uses adaptive management schemes are in
place;
§
Require adaptive management plans to incorporate systems to
generate sustainable revenue, where the benefits go to indigenous
and local communities and local stakeholders to support
successful implementation;
§
Provide extension assistance in setting up and maintaining
monitoring and feedback systems;
§
Include clear descriptions of their adaptive management system,
which includes means to assess uncertainties;
§
Respond quickly to unsustainable practices;
§
Design monitoring system on a temporal scale sufficient to ensure
that information about the status of the resource and ecosystem is
available to inform management decisions to ensure that the
resource is conserved;
§
When using traditional and local knowledge, ensure that approval of
the holder of that knowledge has been obtained.
Practical
principle 5: Sustainable use
management goals and practices should avoid or minimize adverse
impacts on ecosystem services, structure and functions as well as
other components of ecosystems.
[50]/
Rationale:
For use of any resource there is a need to take into account the
functions that resource may fulfil within the ecosystem in which it
occurs, and that use must not adversely affect ecosystem functions.
For example, clear felling in a watershed could lead to erosion of
soil and impairment of the water filtration function of the
ecosystem. Avoidance of this situation would involve setting
conservative cutting quotas with appropriate harvesting techniques
and monitoring the effects of the harvest as it occurs. As
another example, the shrimping industry has developed nets that can
separate out juveniles and by-catch and also reduce negative
effects on benthic and other associated communities.
Operational
guidelines
§
Ensure management practices do not impair the capacity of
ecosystems to deliver goods and services that may be needed some
distance from the site of use. For example, selective cutting of
timber in a watershed would help maintain the ecosystem's
capacity to prevent soil erosion and provide clean water;
§
Ensure that consumptive and non-consumptive use does not impair the
long-term sustainability of that use by negatively impacting the
ecosystem and species on which the use depends, paying special
attention to the needs of threatened components of biological
diversity;
§
Apply a precautionary approach in management decisions in
accordance with principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment
and Development;
§
Identify successful experiences of management of biodiversity
components in other countries in order to adapt and incorporate
this knowledge in their efforts to resolve their own
difficulties;
§
Where possible consider the aggregate and cumulative impact of
activities on the target species or ecosystem in management
decisions related to that species or ecosystem;
§
Where previous impacts have degraded and reduced biodiversity,
support formulation and implementation of remedial action plans
(Article 10(d)).
Practical
principle 6: Interdisciplinary
research into all aspects of the use and conservation of biological
diversity should be promoted and supported.
Rationale:
International conventions and national decisions that affect use
should always apply the best information on which to base decisions
and be aware of the local circumstances where a use is undertaken.
In addition, there is need to ensure that research is supported
into the biological and ecological requirements of the species to
ensure that the use remains within the capacity of the species and
ecosystem to sustain that use. Further, to enhance incentives
that promote sustainability, there would be value in investing in
research to open up new economic opportunities for
stakeholders.
Operational
guidelines
§
Ensure that the results of research inform and guide international,
national policies and decisions;
§
Invest in research into techniques and technologies of management
of biodiversity components that promote sustainability in both
consumptive and non-consumptive uses of biodiversity;
§
Encourage active collaboration between scientific researchers and
people with local and traditional knowledge;
§
Encourage international support and technology transfer, relating
to both consumptive and non-consumptive uses of biodiversity;
§
Develop cooperation between researchers and biodiversity users
(private or local communities), in particular, involve indigenous
and local communities as research partners and use their
expertise to assess management methods and technologies;
§
Investigate and develop effective ways to improve environmental
education and awareness, to encourage public participation and to
stimulate the involvement of stakeholders in biodiversity
management and sustainable use of resources;
§
Investigate and develop means of ensuring rights of access and
methods for helping to ensure that the benefits derived from using
components of biodiversity are equitably shared;
§
Make research results available in a form which decision makers,
users, and other stakeholders can apply;
§
Promote exchange programmes in scientific and technical areas.
Practical
principle 7: The spatial and
temporal scale of management should be compatible with the
ecological and socio-economic scales of the use and its
impact.
[51]/
Rationale:
Management of sustainable use activities should
be scaled to the ecological and socio-economic needs of the
use. If, for example, fish are harvested from a lake, the
owner of the lake should be in charge of, and accountable for, the
management of the lake subject to national or, as appropriate,
subnational policy and legislation
Operational
guidelines
§
Link responsibility and accountability to the spatial and temporal
scale of use;
§
Define the management objectives for the resource being used;
§
Enable full public participation in preparation of management plans
to best ensure ecological and socio-economic sustainability.
§
In case of transboundary resources, it is advisable that
appropriate representation from those states participate in the
management and decisions about the resources.
Practical
principle 8: There should be
arrangements for international cooperation where multinational
decision-making and coordination are needed.
Rationale:
If a biodiversity resource is transboundary between two or more
countries then it is advisable to have a bilateral or multilateral
agreement between those states to determine how the resource will
be used and in what amounts. Absence of such agreements can lead to
each state implementing separate management regimes which, when
taken together, may mean that the resource is
over-utilized.
Operational
guidelines
§
Make arrangements for international cooperation when the
distribution of populations or communities/habitats being used span
two or more nations;
§
Promote multinational technical committees to prepare
recommendations for the sustainable use of transboundary
resources;
§
Have bilateral or multilateral agreements between or among the
States for the sustainable use of transboundary resources;
§
Establish mechanisms involving the collaborating states to ensure
that sustainable use of transboundary resources does not negatively
impact the ecosystem capacity and resilience.
Practical
principle 9: An interdisciplinary,
participatory approach should be applied at the appropriate levels
of management and governance related to the use.
Rationale:
Sustainability of use depends on biological parameters of the
resources being utilized. However, it is recognized that social,
cultural, political and economic factors are equally important. It
is therefore necessary to take such factors into consideration and
involve indigenous and local communities and stakeholders,
including and the private sector, and the people experienced in
these different fields, at all levels of the decision making
process.
Operational
guidelines
§
Consider providing mechanisms that encourage interdisciplinary
cooperation in management of biodiversity components;
§
Set standards for resource management activities that promote
interdisciplinary consultations;
§
Facilitate communication and exchange of information between all
levels of decision-making;
§
Identify all relevant stakeholders and seek their participation in
planning and executing of management activities;
§
Take account of socio-economic, political, biological, ecological,
institutional, religious and cultural factors that could influence
the sustainability of the management;
§
Seek guidance from local, traditional and technical specialists in
designing the management plan;
§
Provide adequate channels of negotiations so that potential
conflicts arising from the participatory involvement of all people
can be quickly and satisfactorily resolved.
Practical
principle 10: International, national policies
should take into account:
Current and potential values derived from the
use of biological diversity;
Intrinsic and other non-economic values of
biological diversity and
Market forces affecting the values and
use.
Rationale:
Recent work in calculating the potential costs of replacing natural
systems with man-made alternatives has shown that such natural
systems should be valued very highly. It follows that international
and national policies that guide trade and development should
compare the real value of natural systems against any intended
replacement uses before such development is undertaken. For
instance, mangroves have the function of fish-spawning and nursery
sites, erosion and storm-surge alleviation and carbon
sequestration. Coral reefs provide protection for juvenile
fish and many species, as well as coastal zone
protection.
Operational
guidelines
§
Promote economic valuation studies of the environmental services of
natural ecosystems;
§
Incorporate this information in policy and decision making
processes, as well as educational applications;
§
Consider this principle in relation to land use/habitat conversion
tradeoffs. Recognize that market forces are not always sufficient
to improve living conditions or increase sustainability in the use
of components of biological diversity;
§
Encourage Governments to take into account biodiversity values in
their national accounts;
§
Encourage and facilitate capacity building for decision makers
about concepts related to economic valuation of biodiversity.
Practical
principle 11: Users of biodiversity components
should seek to minimize waste and adverse environmental impact and
optimize benefits from uses.
Rationale:
Users should seek to optimize management and to improve selectivity
of extractive uses through environmentally friendly techniques, so
that waste and environmental impacts are minimized, and
socio-economic and ecological benefits from uses are
optimized.
Operational
guidelines:
§
Eliminate perverse incentives and provide economic incentives for
resource managers to invest in development and/or use of more
environmentally friendly techniques, e.g., tax exemptions, funds
available for productive practices, lower loan interest rates,
certification for accessing new markets;
§
Establish technical cooperation mechanisms in order to guarantee
the transfer of improved technologies to communities;
§
Endeavour to have an independent review of harvests to ensure that
greater efficiencies in harvest or other extractive uses do not
have a deleterious impact on the status of the resource being used
or its ecosystem;
§
Identify inefficiencies and costs in current methods;
§
Conduct research and development into improved methods;
§
Promote or encourage establishment of agreed industry and third
party quality standards of biodiversity component processing and
management at the international and national levels;
§
Promote more efficient, ethical and humane use of components of
biodiversity, within local and national contexts, and reduce
collateral damage to biodiversity.
Practical
principle 12: The needs of indigenous and local
communities who live with and are affected by the use and
conservation of biological diversity, along with their
contributions to its conservation and sustainable use, should be
reflected in the equitable distribution of the benefits from the
use of those resources.
Rationale:
Indigenous and local communities and local
stakeholders often shoulder significant costs or forgo benefits of
potential use of biological diversity, in order to ensure or
enhance benefits accruing to others. Many resources (e.g., timber,
fisheries) are over-exploited because regulations are ignored and
not enforced. When local people are involved as stakeholders
such violations are generally reduced. Management regimes are
enhanced when constructive programmes that benefit local
communities are implemented, such as capacity training that can
provide income alternatives, or assistance in diversifying their
management capacities.
Operational
guidelines:
§
Promote economic incentives that will guarantee additional benefits
to indigenous and local communities and stakeholders
who are involved in the management of any biodiversity components,
e.g., job opportunities for local peoples, equal distribution of
returns amongst locals and outside investors/co-management;
§
Adopt policies and
regulations that ensure that indigenous and local communities and
local stakeholders who are engaged in the management of a resource
for sustainable use receive an equitable share of any benefits
derived from that use;
§
Ensure that national policies and regulation for sustainable use
recognize and account for non-monetary values of natural
resources;
§
Consider ways to bring uncontrolled use of biological resources
into a legal and sustainable use framework, including promoting
alternative non-consumptive uses of these resources;
§
Ensure that an equitable share of the benefits remain with the
local people in those cases where foreign investment is
involved;
§
Involve local stakeholders, including indigenous and local
communities, in the management of any natural resource and provide
those involved with equitable compensation for their efforts,
taking into account monetary and non-monetary benefits;
§
In the event that management dictates a reduction in harvest
levels, to the extent practicable assistance should be provided for
local stakeholders, including indigenous and local communities, who
are directly dependent on the resource to have access to
alternatives.
Practical principle 13: The costs
of management and conservation of biological diversity should be
internalized within the area of management and reflected in the
distribution of the benefits from the use.
[52]/
Rationale:
The management and conservation of natural resources incurs costs.
If these costs are not adequately covered then management will
decline and the amount and value of the natural resources may also
decline. It is necessary to ensure that some of the benefits from
use flow to the local natural resource management authorities so
that essential management to sustain the resources is maintained.
Such benefits may be direct, such as entrance fees from visitors to
a national park paid directly to, and retained by, the park
management authority or indirect, such as stumpage tax revenue from
timber harvesting paid by loggers that flows through a national
treasury to a local forest service. In some cases licence
fees for fishing rights are paid directly to the management
authority, or to the national treasury.
Operational
guidelines
§
Ensure that national policies do not provide subsidies that mask
true costs of management;
§
Ensure that harvest levels and quotas are set according to
information provided by the monitoring system, not the economic
needs of the management system;
§
Provide guidelines for resource managers to calculate and report
the real cost of management in their business plans;
§
Create other alternative mechanisms to invest revenues from
biodiversity management;
§
Provide economic incentives for managers who have already
internalized environmental costs, e.g., certification to access new
markets, waiver or deferral of taxes in lieu of environmental
investment, promotion of "green-labelling" for
marketing.
Practical
principle 14: Education and public awareness
programmes on conservation and sustainable use should be
implemented and more effective methods of communications should be
developed between and among stakeholders and managers.
Rationale:
To ensure that people are aware of the connectivity between
different parts of biological diversity, its relevance to human
life, and the effects of uses it is advisable to provide means to
engage people in education and awareness of the opportunities and
constraints of sustainable use. It is also important to
educate people on the relationship of sustainable use and the other
two objectives of the Convention. An important way to achieve
sustainable use of biological diversity would be to have in place
effective means for communications between all stakeholders.
Such communications will also facilitate availability of the best
(and new) information about the resource.
Operational
guidelines
§
Plan education and public-awareness activities concerning:
management, values of sustainable use, changing consumptive
patterns and the value of biodiversity in the lives of people;
§
Ensure that public-awareness programmes also inform and guide
decision makers;
§
Target all levels of the chain of production and consumption with
such communications;
§
Report lessons learned about sustainable use activities to the
clearing-house mechanism of the Convention on Biological
Diversity;
§
Encourage and facilitate communication of lessons learned and best
practices to other nations;
§
Ensure that resource users report to Government on their activities
in a manner that facilitates broader communications;
§
Increase awareness of the contributions of knowledge, practices and
innovations of indigenous and local communities for the sustainable
use of biological diversity.
[38]/
The implementation of this programme of work should not provide
incentives that negatively affect the biodiversity of other
countries
[39]/
SBSTTA will also consider the range of use options and management
practices covered by the term agricultural biodiversity
[40]/
The report of the workshop is contained in document
UNEP/CBD/COP/6/INF/24/Add.1.
[41]/
The report of the workshop is contained in document
UNEP/CBD/COP/6/INF/24/Add.2.
[42]/
The report of the workshop is contained in document
UNEP/CBD/COP/6/INF/24/Add.3.
[43]/
Information contained in this section is based on information
contained in the report of the Fourth Open-ended Workshop on
the Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity (Addis Ababa, 6-8 May 2003
(UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/INF/8).
[44]/
See also the note by the Executive Secretary on designing
national-level monitoring programmes and indicators
(UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/9/10).
[45]/
It is recognized that, throughout the principles, rationale and
operational guidelines, the term "national" may mean
either national or, as appropriate in some countries,
subnational.
[46]/
Where consistency with international law is referred to this
recognizes: (i) that there are cases where a country will not be a
party to a specific international convention and accordingly that
law will not apply directly to them; and (ii) that from time to
time countries are not able to achieve full compliance with the
conventions to which they are a party and may need assistance.
[47]/
See principle 2 of the ecosystem approach.
[48]/
See principle 4 of the ecosystem approach.
[49]/
See principles 9 and 11 of the ecosystem approach.
[50]/
See principles 3, 5 and 6 of the ecosystem approach.
[51]/
See principles 2 and 7 of the ecosystem approach.
[52]/
See the operational guidance for the application of the ecosystem
approach (decision V/6, annex, section C,
para. 11).
